This year marks the second annual New York Times Editorial Cartoon Contest. Students in Ms. Romeiser’s AP Language and Composition classes entered this contest, developing cartoons related to historical, political, or current events. Ms. Romeiser’s students did very well in this contest, with two students winning runner up and one student winning honorable mention. Junior Jessica Spina won honorable mention, and juniors Spencer Schultz and Caroline Opalenick both won runner up.

Junior Spencer Schultz won runner up with his cartoon of President-Elect Donald Trump wearing a hat that said “Make Women Like Me.” Schultz says that his inspiration for this cartoon was the election. “I was watching news about the election and I thought about how ironic it was that Donald Trump was running for president, when he has a history of making sexual comments towards women,” said Schultz. Schultz also said that he was very happy when he found out he won, because he believes that people need to see his cartoon.

Another of the two finalists for the New York Times Editorial Cartoon Contest was junior Caroline Opalenick. Opalenick won runner up with her cartoon of three boy scout troops around firewood, and one boy holding up his mixtape saying, “Don’t worry guys, I brought the fire starter!” Opalenick had a different way of being inspired than Schultz. “My family inspired me to draw my cartoon,” said Opalenick. Opalenick also said that when she entered the contest she didn’t not expect to win, so she was “shocked and happy,” when she found out she won.

Opalenick wasn’t the only one who didn’t expect to win an award. “I was really surprised,” said Spina. Junior Jessica Spina achieved honorable mention in the contest, with her cartoon of people not giving money to the poor in Syracuse. Spina says that she got her idea from the news. “I was very honored to be asked to be in the contest,” said Spina.